Slowing down in Southern India for stronger, better connections with ourselves and the culture.

I looked forward to arriving in Chennai on the South East coast of India. We had never been to the southern part of India and Chennai looked like a good choice. It was a large city, right on the coast, and in close proximity to a few other places on our wish list. Plus it offered cheap flights to Sri Lanka. Much warmer weather. Perhaps it would be a bit less crowded, less hectic. Maybe somewhat less noisy.

Our room was small, super clean, and had a large bathroom with the best shower in India, perhaps the world. What makes a good shower in India? First of all if it’s clean and the hot water works then it’s going to be a good stay. But this bathroom was extra special. The water drained perfectly down the drain. This almost never happens. In Rishikesh we bought a squeegee to do the floor after we showered. And the pressure! Hot water flowed from this shower like I’ve never seen. We were in heaven. At least when we were in the shower. We got the chance to experience some authentic South India food and coffee. For some cool pictures and to read more about check out Laurie’s blog post here.

The beaches were a disappointment. There was a lot of trash. I’m going to move on now.

The people were really, really nice and friendly. We visited with many of them and struck up conversations that lasted longer than just the usual “Which country from, how long in India?” ones. We got to know the area by NOT doing the tourist stuff and walking neighborhoods, visiting coffee stalls where the locals drink coffee, and eating dinner off banana leaves (once). The pictures in this blog post are of “Kolams”. Kolams are chalk artwork appearing outside many homes and businesses on the sidewalks in Southern India.

After a few days in Chennai we moved on to Tiruvannamalai. Why? Because that’s where Mt. Arunachala lies. This was the home of the great, silent sage, Sri Ramana Maharshi. We were here less than 24 hours the thought of moving on again in a few days seemed extremely tiring to me. I floated the idea of staying here for 6 nights instead of 3. Laurie agreed. We asked the guesthouse to extend our stay and we settled in, relaxed, and got to know the neighborhood.

It is here that I learned fearlessness from my wife, Laurie. Laurie has a friend who gave us the name of a local man who acts as a guide and in exchange he accepts donations for the school where he works. Laurie set up a 10K night time walk for us around the base of the mountain. It’s apparently a “thing”. We would begin at 8 PM and end around midnight. Of course I thought this was a ludicrous idea on many levels. I tried to come up with some valid debating points to maybe talk my way out of it. Laurie seemed fearless and after much thought I sucked it up and agreed to go. I was scared but I was going to face my fears. And if I didn’t die or lose a kidney I would be a stronger person I thought. Plus I was earning valuable points with my wife. The late night walk turned out to be pretty inconsequential. After 6 miles it ended at a hotel restaurant where I ate a bowl of pistachio caramel ice cream celebrating my life, my kidneys, my newfound fearlessness and pondering when I would cash in the newly earned points.

Not so fast. I woke up the next day feeling really weak, clammy, tired, and a tiny bit queasy over the next few days. Of course I blamed it on the mountain and not the fact the Laurie had a mild cold and now I had gotten it too. After cross checking my symptoms with everything from Typhoid to Malaria to TB to Dengue to Hydrogen Sulfide poisoning I resided myself to the fact that I had a cold. I rested.

Over the next week we hiked to some caves on the mountain, visited the ashram and bookstore a few times, and had some great conversations and visits with the locals. We live-streamed a few Yoga classes from the rooftop of our guesthouse with Mt. Arunachala as the backdrop. We did laundry by hand. We cooked dal and veggies. We even ate more ice cream. After a week in Tiruvannamalai we headed back to Chennai to catch a flight to Sri Lanka. It took the rest of our time in Southern India and a day by the beach in Sri Lanka for me to feel 100% again. We’ve slowed down and extended our stays in most areas. I gives us a chance to relax and get to know the areas we are in. For the most part we’ve avoided most all of the tourist places. We spend a lot of time walking, visiting, doing Yoga and meditating, writing, reading and relaxing. We are having the time of our life doing it.